The Secret Supper is held by Swallow Tail culinary adventures in Vancouver. On February 4th, we tried our first secret supper which was mostly in East Van followed by a main course in Vancouver. We started the night by meeting at Central station near Science World where an old Trolley style bus would be our transportation for the night. Two trolley bus loads of people dressed in the 1920’s attire would be led to 3 destinations that were not announced. We didn’t have the slightest clue where we were headed, but we were in a bus full of friendly enthusiastic people curious to see where the night would lead us. Swallow Tail staff did inform us that we would be going down to a 1920’s prohibition themed night. How fun?!
Our first stop brought us to a newly opened craft brewery called Luppolo. The place was open to the public upon arrival, but tables were reserved for our party. The staff started us out with 2 tasters from a list of beers on tap. They served us the Roggenbier, a 7% abv medival dark german beer. It had subtle notes of banana and clove. The second beer served was the Double IPA which like its name was a 8% abv double indian pale ale. Although we are not the biggest fans of IPA, this beer was as good as the Roggenbier, but it had aromas of peach, melon, and citrus zest with a low level of bitterness. Making this IPA one of our favourites. As we finished up our tasters, staff of Luppolo took us into the back of the brewery for a tour. The information was detailed and informative. At the same time, it may have been too much information for the size of our party as many were interested in our 3rd taster of the night. The saison was served at the start of our tour along with a quick introduction to malts and how they are roasted to make the saison. The Saison is a 5% abv light bodied belgian that had notes of spice, bubble gum, apple, and pear. The tour ended with our group back in front of brewery where we were told that our second stop of the night was within walking distance.
We exited out into the cold onto Venables street where next door at a skate/bike shop called the Landyachtz Factory Store, was our second stop. Yes, a skate shop! It was shut down especially for the Supper Soiree; and tonight it was a prohibition themed space serving beer, moonshine, and canapes.. Beer was poured off the repair table, canapes were served off skateboards, while a matcha moonshine cocktail greeted us upon arrival. On the side of the skate shop was a room filled with classic arcade and pinball machines that entertained guests while our group consumed fingered sized cucumber wraps and chicken wings. We don’t know if it was the attire or the environment, but this location really gave you that feel of being in a prohibition bar in the 1920’s era. It set the group’s mood perfectly in preparation for dinner at our final destination.
Supper Time. Our secret adventure’s final destination materialized after our trolley stopped just outside of Gastown on Powell Street at the Groundswell Grassroots Economic Alternatives. The location used to be an old Grocer store in the 1920’s where rumour has it that the backroom was used for illegal card gambling. Tonight though, it hosted guests of the Supper Soiree. Being located in the old Japantown, an area which no longer exists to our knowledge, they started our appetizer with a japanese style black garlic udon congee. Udon noodles, black garlic, and chunks of mushroom and green onion served in a small soup bowl with chopsticks. It was a nice touch to see the Udon noodles wrapped around the chopsticks served on top of the congee. Paired with the congee was Spice Jar, a white wine by Lake Breeze. The wine was very fruity, but not too sweet. It complimented the congee nicely. For our main course, we were served chicken with heirloom squash, caramelized shallots, with chicken au jus. The chicken was paired with a Pinot Noir by Thornhaven. The Pinot Noir was a dry red wine with earth notes. Dessert was the highlight of the night. Framboise by Elephant Island Wines was served along side a deconstructed apple pie with brown butter mousse. The Framboise is a raspberry dessert wine infused with brandy to add sweetness. This sweetness played well on the tart apples and silky smooth brown butter mousse. The two paired together like nothing we’ve ever tried.
At the end of the night we had made some new friends, learned something new, experienced some culinary skills, and came out satisfied with our overall tour. The trolley’s dropped us back at Central station. We are not sponsored or endorsed by any of the mentioned places and/or links in this blog, but if you’d like to see other event happening in Vancouver, we suggest looking at Dine Out Vancouver where we initially found this event in a subscribed email. We are both glad we attended this event and hope to attend another in the future!
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